Indonesian Digital News Archive

On behalf of the entire Android team, I'm happy to let you know that an updated version of the Android SDK – we're calling it m5-rc14 – is now available. Today, we're continuing the early look at the Android SDK that we started back in November by providing updates to the Android APIs and the developer tools based, in part, on the great feedback and suggestions developers have been giving us. We're excited about the progress that we've made and look forward to making additional updates in the future as the platform evolves towards production-readiness.

There are a couple of changes in m5-rc14 I'd like to highlight:

• New user interface - As I mentioned when we introduced the m3 version of the Android SDK, we're continuing to refine the UI that's available for Android. m5-rc14 replaces the previous placeholder with a new UI, but as before, work on it is still in-progress.
• Layout animations - Developers can now create layout animations for their applications using the capabilities introduced in the android.view.animation package. Check out the LayoutAnimation*.java files in the APIDemos sample code for examples of how this works.
• Geo-coding - android.location.Geocoder enables developers to forward and reverse geo-code (i.e. translate an address into a coordinate and vice-versa), and also search for businesses.
• New media codecs - The MediaPlayer class has added support for the OGG Vorbis, MIDI, XMF, iMelody, RTTL/RTX, and OTA audio file formats.
• Updated Eclipse plug-in - A new version of ADT is available and provides improvements to the Android developer experience. In particular, check out the new Android Manifest editor.

You can find more information about what's changed in a couple of documents that we've published. First is an overview of the changes to the Android APIs in API Changes Overview. If you want a more granular view of what's changed, an API diff between m3-rc37 and m5-rc14 is also available. Finally, Upgrading the SDK provides links to the two previously referenced documents and the release notes, as well as instructions on how to upgrade your development environment.

We still need your help in shaping the platform, so if you find issues with the Android APIs or the developer tools, please let us know through the Android Issue Tracker. If you have general comments or questions, please head on over to the Android groups to get in touch.

We're looking forward to all the applications that developers will create using this new version of the Android SDK. Of course, you can use m5-rc14 or any older version of the SDK for your Android Developers Challenge submission.

As promised, there's another Android event coming up – though a little closer to home this time. Our Android Advocates are heading to Boston for a Code Day that will be taking place on February 23. Registration is now open, but space is limited so make sure you reserve your spot.

Here are the details:

As a reminder, a Code Day is an immersive introduction and hands-on session for Android.

It's promising to be a real Android nor'easter. We hope to see you there!

We'd like to let you know that we are extending the submission deadline for the first Android Developers Challenge to 14 April 2008. Based on the great feedback you've given us, we've made significant updates to the SDK that we'll be releasing in several weeks. In order to give you extra time to take advantage of these forthcoming UI and API enhancements, we've decided to extend the submission deadline. In addition, a fair number of developers have also asked for more time to build and polish their applications.

Of course, you can stay the course and submit your applications using any version of the SDK that you'd like. We're looking forward to seeing some great apps, especially after we've had a chance to incorporate some of your feedback into the Android platform.

Here is the updated time line:

For additional details on the Android Developer Challenge, please visit the ADC page.

Good luck and good coding!

When I recently blogged about our upcoming Android Campfire, I hinted at some international events we've been working on. We've now finalized plans on those, and registration is open.

We've got Android Code Days lined up for these locations:

• On 31 January, we'll split up, and host Android Code Days in London, UK and Tel Aviv, Israel.


• On 23 February, we'll host one in Boston, Massachusetts. (We'll post the registration page for this event soon.)

In addition, as we've announced via Mobile Monday Germany, we'll be having a similar event in Munich, Germany on 29 January.

What's a Code Day, you ask? Well, it's just our name for a day-long introduction and immersion session for Android. We'll give a technical introduction to the platform as well as a more in-depth look into topics of interest to the attendees. Then we'll have a free-for-all coding session that we like to call the "Laptop Lounge".

In other words, the agenda is largely up to you! Each of these events includes food and refreshments and is free of charge, but space is limited so please be sure to click on the registration links above to reserve your spot.

I said before that I think I have a really cool job; now I get to travel the world to meet developers and talk about cool technologies. I can't believe I get paid for this!

We expected a lot of attention when we launched the early look of the Android SDK, and that's certainly what we got! Developers haven't been shy in speaking their minds on our Discussion Groups, and we've been listening. We've also been hard at work on Android, and meanwhile the Developer Challenge has been heating up and the submissions have started coming in.

We've been improving that "early look" and are preparing for the next big SDK release, so it's time to take the whole thing up a notch. As we move toward the first handsets, it's time to formalize the process, and the first step in that is to enable an issue tracker for developers to submit feedback.

I know a great many developers have been waiting eagerly for this, so I'm very pleased to be able to say that the Issue Tracker on the Android project on Google Code Project Hosting is now open for business. You can find the Issue Tracker here:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/list

We're now actively tracking that system, and we invite developers to file an issue to let us know about any problems you find with the SDK.

When you submit an issue, remember that the more detail you can give, the more likely the issue is to be addressed. (We especially enjoy the subtle and delicious flavors of reproducible sample code.) Of course, you'll still be able to ask for answers and advice on the Discussion Groups, so don't stop posting there. We'll be reviewing submitted issues regularly and keeping the database up to date, so that you can rely on it as a reliable and timely resource.

I think just about everyone will find this useful -- I know I definitely will. Happy coding, and now: happy reporting!

It's been a busy few months. First we announced Android, then we released an early look of the Android SDK, and just last week we started accepting submissions for the Android Developer Challenge. Now that we've got things moving along, it's time to stop and smell the roses.

Our developers will be a huge part of Android's success, so we want to meet you, our colleagues. We're working on some events around the world that we hope to announce soon, but to kick things off, on the 23rd of January we'll be holding a Campfire about Android.

Join us for food, drinks, and great conversation! Come meet other developers as well as Googlers working on Android. Talk business, talk pleasure, or just hang out – it's up to you.

We'd love to see all of you there, but unfortunately space is limited. We've set up a registration page for you to sign up, so head on over and reserve your spot!

I think I have a really cool job, because I get to do a little bit of all those other cool jobs that you wish you could have. Today, I get to be like the Chairman from Iron Chef.

If you've never seen the show, the premise is that a slightly mysterious and rather eccentric guy known as the Chairman fulfilled his dream of presiding over a huge, extravagant cooking tournament. In a similar vein, today I get to make the announcement that the Android Developer Challenge is now "open for business" and accepting your submissions. The excitement! The anticipation! The pageantry!

Okay, not so much pageantry. But I do think it's pretty exciting, and I can't wait to see what you developers will come up with. Some of you have already given us a little taste of the cool stuff you're working on, and I'm eager to see what everyone else is cooking up.

To submit your application for the Challenge, click here to go to the Submission Page. Once there, you'll pick from one of three versions of the form based on whether you're working alone, in a team, or for an organized company. We've tried to keep things simple, so all you have to do is choose the form that applies to you, fill it out, attach the .apk file for your application, and you're done.

You also have the opportunity to upload a file containing documentation about your application. Any readable format is okay, although we prefer PDF or plain text. This file can contain anything that you think is important. For instance, you might include instructions on how to use your program, a design document that describes the next steps you plan to take, or a narrative that explains the vision of your application. We do ask that you submit your documentation and application in English, so that all the judges (who will be chosen by members of the Open Handset Alliance) can easily read it.

It's also very important to look at the Terms and Conditions. These are the rules for the Challenge and describe what you need to do to participate. Read them carefully!

The submission period is open until March 3, 2008, so you don't need to rush to submit your application just yet. March 3 is definitely a hard deadline though, so you must have your applications submitted by then. If you choose to submit now, you can always re-submit a later version of your application closer to the end. (I'd bet the participants on Iron Chef would love to be able to refine and re-submit their works to the judges.)

Maybe it's no Kitchen Stadium, but I still think we're in for a lot of fun. I hope everyone is having a great time developing for Android, and I hope to soon see the fruits of your labor. Good luck, and happy coding!

This week finds me at the Google offices in jolly old London after a quick dash out to Belgium last week. I have had the chance to meet the Mobile developers based here in London and give them an introduction to Android, as well as do the same for 70ish external developers from the London area. It has been a fun week of Android hackathons, brainstorming for Android application ideas and occasionally finding bugs and holes in the documentation.

It has been really valuable spending enough time with a group of motivated developers to move beyond the first steps and into real development work. A couple of my temporary office mates here are already well on their way to implementing a general puzzle application for Android. It will enable you to choose your favorite puzzle engines to install and then play a selection of puzzles downloaded on demand from a server – quite an ambitious project for a first try, but these guys are pretty determined and hope to have a prototype of the first puzzle (battleships) working before I hit the road again on Friday. They are also treating the implementation as a chance to learn the architecture: learning the right way to use the architectural pieces in Android rather than opting for the quick and easy shortcuts, which is the best way to really learn a new platform in my experience (don't compromise, be true to your vision).

The week is far from over yet, with another internal and external hackathon planned, and as many more ideas sessions as we can cram in.

As for the London offices – well they are fantastic. Right in the middle of everything, Jaffa Cakes in the kitchens (if you don't know what a Jaffa Cake is, or how to eat one in particular, check out this informative video on the subject). There are also a wealth of pubs within easy walking of the offices, a welcome feature for an ex-pat like me.

With the holidays getting close, don't forget that a new SDK version was announced last week with several improvements. It might be worth grabbing that before taking off for the holidays, just in case you get the urge to do some Android coding while trying to work out if you ate just a bit too much for dinner.

Happy Holidays...

It's been just over a month since we gave developers the first early peek at the Android SDK. We've been hard at work since then on some nifty new stuff we think you'll really like. We hope to show that to you soon, but in the meantime, we wanted to fix some of the important issues you've raised. We're very pleased to announce the immediate availability of m3-rc37a. (What a great name for a droid!)

Our servers are quivering in anticipation of the opportunity to deliver these bits fresh to your desktop. Don't be shy! But if you need further enticement to download the new version, here are a few of the improvements you'll find therein:

• The new default skin for the emulator is HVGA, portrait mode. That's the one you should focus on for your submissions for the Android Developer Challenge.
  


• We've added the ability to inject SMS messages into the emulator, which will allow you to more easily test IntentReceivers for incoming SMS messages.


• The choppy audio problem in the emulator on Windows should now be solved.


• There's a new emulator control panel that you can use to control network events like radio state changes and incoming calls.
• The Eclipse plugin now does color syntax highlighting on the XML files, such as AndroidManifest.xml.


• Some of the more annoying bugs in the Eclipse plugin have been fixed; for instance, the application launcher retries if the first try times out while waiting for the emulator to start, and "R.java" files are no longer flagged as read-only.

You can find a full list of changes for this and every release at the Release Notes page. If you're looking for tips on upgrading your SDK installation, we have those too.

We hope that these humble tweaks make your life just a little bit better, or at least, the part of your life you spend writing code.

Dianne Hackborn and Jason Parks are two of the architects on the Android engineering team, and in this podcast they talk to us about the Android platform from a technical perspective.

Dianne and Jason share a background at both Be and PalmSource, and talk about how that experience has been applied to Android. Other topics covered include:

• Some history behind the project


• The high level architecture of Android. For example, how Linux processes handle the VM and manage security (the VM doesn't handle it)


• Details on the Dalvik VM and how it is optimized for small devices


• The architecture: From Intents to Views to Permissions and more


• How XML is slow, but the tools convert the XML to a nicer format for you


• The tooling and steps for building an application on Android


• How so many objects have a URL, and how the environment is like a mini-SOA (Services across processes instead of across the network)


• Thoughts on how you program for small devices, and things to watch out for if you move from the desktop


• The control, or lack of control that you have over the application lifecycle


• "Everything you do drains the battery"


• The thread story: they exist, you don't have to deal with them if you don't want to, and the UI


• Using XMPP for messaging

You can download the episode directly, or subscribe to the show (click here for iTunes one-click subscribe).

The end of last week was Thanksgiving in the US, the tradition is to be with family, eat too much food and watch football (not necessarily in that order).

Apparently some folks took the chance to work on Android projects too. We are highlighting a few of the projects that caught our eye.

One of the coming of age rituals of any new platform is the porting of the Z-machine – the interpreter used in the Zork series of games from Infocom. Now Android has the Z-machine thanks to sussman and mariusm. The project, called Twisty, is available on Google code hosting. Thanks for the lost productivity you guys.

Testing is also a hot topic on our Google groups. While JUnit is bundled with the Android SDK to make it possible to do unit testing, there are many other kinds of testing, like automated acceptance testing. Positron builds on the Android instrumentation features from the SDK to make automated acceptance testing of Android applications possible. The author, phil.h.smith, has a pretty good introduction on how to use Positron as well.

Plugins for other IDEs are another favorite on the Android Google groups. While there are only rumblings about a NetBeans plugin at present, the idea-android project already has an early release for IntelliJ IDEA thanks to aefimov.box and intelliyole.

Dion Almaer also picked up on a crossover GWT/Android project which looks pretty amazing too. Chronoscope is an open source charting and visualization library written in GWT. The team were able to take the library, and with 8 hours of playing with Android, had a port to the Android platform.

Of course, there are many more Android projects springing up all the time, as a search of the android label on Google code hosting will demonstrate. It's great to see all this activity just a couple of weeks after the SDK was released.